Yemala 12/26 OTJ trial day 7 AMBG 121; +2 87; +7 110; PMBG 90; +3 87

Discussion in 'Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars' started by Hroswitha, Dec 26, 2018.

  1. Hroswitha

    Hroswitha Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2011
  2. carfurby (GA)

    carfurby (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2012
    Happy Day 7!
    :D:D:D:D:):):)
     
  3. Hroswitha

    Hroswitha Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2011
    As many of us have, I have been reading as much as I can of responses to the loss of lovely China. Each one reminds me that, with Mala, we're cheating time.

    My little girl is now 19 - she'll be 20 this summer. Her numbers have improved significantly since the fall, and she's on her third OTJ trial and looking at remission again.

    But I know how this ends. I've lost too many dear companions to fool myself.

    Every night, no matter what, I gather up her dear little body and fold her under the covers with me. Most nights, she curls up with her face on the pillow next to mine, her feet tucked up next to my chest, and our breaths synchronize in sleep. If I stroke her or kiss her face, she gives me a smug and sleepy chirp. If she's slightly irritable, she'll nip my nose or cheek, or give me a buss across my chin.

    I can't take it for granted. I try to be in the moment, remember that every night I have with her is a gift. Today, her fur is soft, her eyes glisten though they've dimmed somewhat with age. She moves easily, and sleeps comfortably.

    And every night, I ask her to stay longer.

    I sincerely hope I'll ask her again on Christmas of 2019.

    I hope the same for all of us caring for these sugar kitties and their civvy friends, who steal our hearts and leave us always too soon. Hug those lovely creatures, and love them while you can.
     
  4. Olive & Paula

    Olive & Paula Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2015
    Half way there!!!!!!
     
  5. JoyBee&Ravan

    JoyBee&Ravan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2018
    cat & bee.jpg
    Beautiful words to live by!! Since Chris & China I've been thinking the same thing! Sometimes we "NEED" a Wake Up call to remind us Life is a GIFT!

    I had a kitty named Daisy. She got cancer in her foot when she was 20 yrs old. The vet said I can remove the toe & see if it will stop the cancer. I thought she'd never make it thru the anesthetic & surgery.
    Daisy did great! She went on to live 3 more Happy years! She was 23 & 2 months when one lovely afternoon we both fell asleep in the sun on my front room rug. When I woke up an hour later she was laying in the same position next to me. She was gone but i swear she had a tiny smile for me.
    We just never know when or how they will leave us so, Appreciate each day!

    Your words got me crying again! Thank you for the reminder! (Since Chris & China I'm so emotional!)
    It sounds like your Mala is in good health & will enjoy remission. I hope she's with you for many more years. ( I read a cat in England lived over 30 yrs!) People are living longer & so are our animal companions!!

    Enjoy your Day! I'll be Cheering Mala on for Remission in 7 more days:D
     
    Barbara & Uncle (GA) likes this.
  6. JoyBee&Ravan

    JoyBee&Ravan Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2018
  7. Hroswitha

    Hroswitha Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2011
    PMBG 90.

    Another WOOT! happening here.
     
  8. Hroswitha

    Hroswitha Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2011
    In 2016, Yemala's sister Erzuli was diagnosed with liver disease. To pin down what exactly was wrong, she would have had to go through prolonged and expensive procedures, and the prognosis - even if they could figure out why her liver was shutting down - would not be good. Instead of torturing her, as Zuli was far more shy and diffident than her sister, we chose to find ways to make whatever time she had as good as we could. I started boiling chicken hind quarters every few days and feeding her as much as she would eat. She gained weight - from just about 5 lbs to nearly 6 within just a few months. But in early 2017, she developed congestive heart failure. We watched her decline rapidly, and when she stopped eating, we set up a time to take her in and let her go. Her last moments in life she spent gazing into the faces of the people who had loved her all 18 years of her life.

    Emmeline Pankhurst, our dear little flufflepants, developed a problem with her mouth in the spring of this year. She started pawing at her jaw, and when it swelled, we took her to a vet. They said that she had already lost several teeth, and more needed to be removed. We took her to a surgeon, and they took all the teeth remaining on one side of her jaw, and she seemed better.

    Until it started again. Her face swelled, she ripped at her cheeks. This time, blood tests revealed an elevated white blood cell count, and the vet found a tumor in the jaw where the teeth had crumbled. We put her on pain killers, and knew that she only had a week or two of good time left. We got the swelling reduced and took away her pain, but it came back to the point that her entire sinus on that side was distorted. She had trouble breathing, and stopped eating even her favorite raw eggs. We debated a long time one evening. Was it time? When I asked myself that question, my heart roared back, "YES". We got her to a sympathetic vet the next day, and that little girl strutted with her old confidence and strength into the lab. But we knew it was a sham. Emmy couldn't go on. All she had left of life would be pain, and she didn't deserve that. As with Zuli, she saw our faces last as her eyes closed. Every time I get out eggs to bake or cook, I listen for Emmy's sweet chirp. I hate that it doesn't come.

    All our dear cats who have passed since we bought our house are in the wooded ravine behind our property. It's our property, and not likely to ever be disturbed. They rest there, and I like to think of them resting there, quiet, at peace, no longer in pain. Scheherazade, whom we lost to CKD in 2003, is there, as is Simon, the patriarch of our feral clan. When I sit on my deck, I often think of these creatures, along with my beautiful and irreplaceable Lilith (GA 1999) and Igornia Vincent Stravinski (GA 2000), who we had to leave at previous properties.

    Mala roars along, and fights for every day. She stays, I think, because her life is interesting, happy, comfortable, and filled with adoring humans and docile lesser cats. She sits next to me often as I'm putting in her numbers on the board, she pets my hair if I ignore her, or rubs her face against my nose or chin. She's demanding, ornery, sweet and sour, and so utterly dear.

    I have to just live within the day, give her reasons to stay, and care for her as best I can. She's worth every minute.

    Here's to another year of caring for these marvelous creatures, sugar kitties and civvy friends, and all the joy they bring to our lives. May all our 2019 be filled with surfing cats and OTJ parties, and all our memories of them be filled with the recognition that we gave them all the days we could that were worth living.
     
    JoyBee&Ravan likes this.

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